Taiwan tells citizens to delay S. Korea travel amid tensionsTaipei (AFP) April 11, 2013 -
Taiwan's government on Thursday became the first to advise its citizens to postpone trips to South Korea ahead of an expected missile launch by the North that has sent nuclear tensions soaring.

The foreign ministry has issued a "grey" alert for South Korea, a popular tourist destination for Taiwanese, calling on travellers to delay sightseeing, business and study trips there.

"The ministry will continue to monitor the developments on the Korean peninsula and regularly update travel information to ensure the safety of our people," it said in a statement.

The North last week told foreign diplomats in Pyongyang they had until April 10 to consider evacuation, and followed that with a similar warning to foreigners in South Korea to get out ahead of a possible "thermo-nuclear" war.

But the European Union said the seven EU countries with embassies in North Korea saw no need to leave, adding that it saw no risk to its citizens in the South.

Some Western diplomats said that the warnings were a propaganda ploy by the North to shift blame for heightened tensions to South Korea and its ally the United States.

Despite the reassurances, there is still growing global concern that sky-high tensions might trigger an incident that could swiftly escalate.

According to Taiwan's Tourism Bureau, about 40 percent of scheduled group tours to South Korea had been cancelled as of Wednesday.

About 1,400 Taiwanese group tourists are currently travelling in South Korea, while local travel agencies have been instructed to advise their clients to delay trips there or switch to other locations, the bureau said.

Seoul switched diplomatic ties from Taipei to Beijing in 1992, but maintains close trade, tourism and civil ties with the self-ruled island. Last year more than 532,000 Taiwanese visited South Korea.

South Korean and US forces raised their alert status to "vital threat" Wednesday before an expected North Korean missile test as the Pentagon warned a bellicose Pyongyang it was "skating very close to a dangerous line".

The North last week told foreign diplomats in Pyongyang they had until April 10 to consider evacuation, fuelling speculation of a launch between Wednesday and April 15 birthday celebrations for late founder Kim Il-Sung.

Any launch could coincide with visits by US Secretary of State John Kerry and NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who will both be in Seoul on Friday.

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-Se told parliament the launch could take place "any time" and warned Pyongyang it risked triggering a fresh round of UN sanctions.

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters Wednesday that the United States and its allies hoped Pyongyang would tone down its inflammatory language, but said that the American military was prepared for any possibility.

"North Korea... with its bellicose rhetoric, its actions, has been skating very close to a dangerous line," he said.

"Our country is fully prepared to deal with any contingency, any action that North Korea may take or any provocation that they may instigate," Hagel added.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned against heating up the crisis and stressed Moscow and Washington had a common stance.

"One just shouldn't scare anyone with military manoeuvres and there's a chance that everything will calm down," Lavrov told journalists after meeting Kerry in London.

Kerry also discussed North Korea with Japan Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida in London and emphasised the importance of putting pressure on Pyongyang with economic sanctions, a senior State Department official said.

South Korean intelligence says the North has prepared two mid-range missiles for imminent launch from its east coast, despite warnings from ally China to avoid provocative moves at a time of soaring military tensions.

On Tuesday the North reiterated a warning that the peninsula was headed for "thermo-nuclear" war and advised foreigners to consider leaving South Korea.

The South Korea-US Combined Forces Command raised its "Watchcon" status from 3 to 2 to reflect indications of a "vital threat", Yonhap news agency said, citing a senior military official.

Watchcon 4 is in effect during normal peacetime, while Watchcon 3 reflects indications of an important threat. Watchcon 1 is used in wartime.

In a separate report, Yonhap quoted a government source as saying Pyongyang might be preparing "multiple" launches, after other launch vehicles were reportedly detected carrying shorter-range SCUD and Rodong missiles.

Although the North's warnings to embassies in Pyongyang and foreigners in the South were largely shrugged off, there is growing global concern that sky-high tensions might trigger an incident that could swiftly escalate.

North Korea has wielded the "thermo-nuclear war" threat several times in recent months despite expert opinion that it is nowhere near developing such an advanced nuclear device.

The crisis on the Korean peninsula has intensified almost daily since the North's nuclear test in February, which drew toughened UN sanctions.

Incensed by ongoing South Korean-US military exercises, Pyongyang has accused Washington and Seoul of preparing an invasion and threatened dire military actions ranging from artillery barrages to nuclear strikes.

South Korea last went to Watchcon 2 around the time of the North's nuclear test, and its long-range rocket launch last December.

The Watchcon system solely relates to surveillance levels and is separate from the Defcon system of military preparedness.

The mid-range missiles mobilised by the North are reported to be untested Musudan models with an estimated range of anywhere up to 4,000 kilometres (2,485 miles).

That would cover any target in South Korea and Japan, and possibly even US military bases on the Pacific island of Guam.

Japan, whose armed forces have been authorised to shoot down any North Korean missile headed towards its territory, has deployed Patriot missiles in its capital as a pre-emptive defence measure.

The North's official Rodong Sinmun daily on Wednesday accused Tokyo of "military adventurism" and warned it against siding with the US.

N. Korea border crossing shut to tourists: China officialDandong, China (AFP) April 10, 2013
The biggest border crossing between North Korea and China has been closed to tourist groups, a Chinese official said Wednesday as nuclear tensions mounted, but business travel was still allowed.
"Travel agencies are not allowed to take tourist groups to go there, since the North Korean government is now asking foreign people to leave," the official at the Dandong Border Office told AFP.
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